iTunes Unhappy Amazon is Getting Early Bird Album Specials from Record Labels
Billboard is reporting that Amazon MP3′s deals with record labels to offer certain albums a day early and a few bucks cheaper have caused iTunes to raise a few eyebrows… and flex some not-so-subtle music muscle.
In exchange for a Daily Deal promotion on a new album, Amazon has been asking labels to provide it with a one-day exclusive before street date and such digital marketing support as a banner ad on an artist’s MySpace page and messages on label and artist Web sites and social network feeds.
“When that happened,” the executive says, “iTunes said, ‘Enough of that s–t.’ “
As a result some labels have been opting out of the Amazon MP3 deal while others claim the situation is fluid and they’ll opt in and out depending on the album and the amount of exposure iTunes is likely to give them. One major label exec who remains nameless, however, shot back:
“[iTunes is] . . . diverting their energy from ‘let’s make this machine better’ to ‘let’s protect what we got.’ “
The battle is over the initial, high volume sales when a new album hits the streets. If Amazon can dash in and scoop iTunes, they stand to syphon off a lot of the sales, and iTunes doesn’t want to stand for that. Of course, the record labels could just give everyone the albums early and for less… We’d be just fine with that!
This, of course, is particularly interesting in light of the similar Apple vs. Amazon battles we’ve been seeing over eBooks pricing, where Amazon and not Apple is the entrenched market leader and Apple’s iBooks the scrappy new comer. Can they fight — and win — wars on so many fronts?
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I honestly buy 80% of my music off of Amazon MP3 because it’s tax-free, tracks are $0.99 when iTunes often sells them for $1.29, and they have albums dirt cheap! And it goes straight to my iTunes, anyways. Thank you, Amazon!
boohooo apple. I like apple is like a kid saying “but Mom”
I honestly hope that Amazon is able to “syphon off” some of iTunes sales; enough to make a noticeable difference in profit. Maybe this will serve as a wakeup call for Apple in regards to the increased song prices that they seem to think their customers are ok with.
@Elijah: Apple will sell music as cheaply as possible, Jobs has said their competition is “free as in pirated”.
The record labels don’t like iTunes’ power so they try to help Amazon, first by giving them DRM-free earlier than they would iTunes, also giving them lower prices.
They’re not doing it for the customers.
Who’s acting like a monopoly now?
I still credit Steve Jobs for putting together the iTunes Store for music, even though I’ve bought maybe two albums from iTunes. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t put upper tier headphone-related hardware into their devices, although they’ve gotten better; but that means I need everything to be in mp3 format, even if the files are twice as large. AAC files are simply not widely supported. But, my ability to get mp3 files from Amazon is also due to the iTunes Store.
It seems so far that it’s better for consumers when there’s competition over e-content. If it were up to the publishers themselves, everything would have DRM, including all hardware.
As long as paper book sales net the publisher more money, there will be more interest in a flexible market on the part of publishers, and Amazon will still be able to make deals.
I can’t stream AAC files to my Xbox so I get my music from Amazon. No brainer.
Another reason to dislike Apple and iTunes…
apple isn’t happy with amazon cutting into their bottom line? how about iTunes put together a more consumer-friendly price point, a la amazon. how effing difficult is it?
@A1by: While I agree with the sentiment that this is sleazy, no one is acting like a monopoly, because no one is a monopoly yet.
Neither Amazon nor iTunes has total domination of the music market, at least not yet. when one of them has 80-90% marketshare in sold music, then it’s a monopoly and then they can start acting like a monopoly.
At the same time… who said Amazon was acting pristine and clean? Asking the record companies to get exclusive rights that other music download sites do not simply because they want to? This isn’t David vs goliath, this is clash of the titans, and they BOTH need to cut it out.
I would rather buy from Amazon than Apple anyways. iTunes protection adds and extra step for getting their music to my car so I don’t like it…
I’m with Christian – Amazon has been my go-to place for MP3s almost exclusively the last three years. Cheaper, plays on anything, no hassles at all. And I can’t believe that Apple has the gall to whine about somebody – SNIFF, HONK, WAAHH – having exclusivity to something. What a crock.
Steve-
Just lower your prices. No big deal.
Amazon
@blasted Steve, you forgot “Sent from my HTC”
The quote from the record exec:
is SO True.
iTunes as a sales platform has gotten more difficult to navigate, and more expensive as time goes on.
iTunes as a music management software has gotten so incredibly obtuse, astoundingly unintuitive, and problematic that its likely to crumble under its own weight.
iTunes users have become so use to this steaming pile they accept it as if it was fresh and original, when the truth is that almost anybody’s music management software is easier.
But Apple leaning on the labels to prevent them working deals with another company… Hello, FTC? Illegal restraint of trade?
seems my comments get delete from here. Be “First” always seems to be there here. Not like im writing anything offensive.
@websyndicate
Because writing “First” is completely juvenile, adolescent and idiotic. Grow up!
@Frank Im not saying i write first and have never done so. Im saying it seems to be one of the comments that always stays up but my comments with actual input are not posting. They work when I post from work but not from safari or firefox.
Im not the one who needs to grow up you juvenile, adolescent and idiotic. U Grow up!
Too much!
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Amazon gets to sell some new hot releases for 24 hours before they get to the iTunes store. It’s no surprise that Apple isn’t thrilled with that. It appears to have started when Island placed Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” in the promotion.